MiraCosta puts hope in its new president

Board formally OKs a higher-ed veteran

NORTH COUNTY 
MiraCosta College trustees, faculty and staff are pinning their hopes for a turmoil-free future on the school's new president, Francisco Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, 46, says he's up to the task. He has 24 years of experience working in higher education, most recently serving as president of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

College trustees announced his appointment Dec. 23. He begins work March 1.

Members of the faculty and the nonteaching staff said this week that they believe Rodriguez is the man for the job.

Trustee Gloria Carranza, vacationing in Mexico when her colleagues confirmed Rodriguez's appointment, noted that board members were equally unanimous and excited about their choice of Victoria Muñoz Richart four years ago.

But Carranza said she believes they've made the right choice this time. “I think he's just going to be so good for the college and for the community too,” she said.

Carranza added that she was especially impressed with Rodriguez's emphasis on his “moral compass” and ethics, which he spoke about during a public forum Dec. 5 at MiraCosta's main campus in Oceanside.

Trustee Charles Adams, also absent at the time of the final vote because of a death in his family, said he had supported Rodriguez's selection from the beginning.

Adams would not go so far as to say Rodriguez would be the salve that would heal all the college's wounds, however. Deep divisions remain on campus, he said.

Many people still believe that the college could have handled a scandal involving the illegal sale of palm trees quietly, without it spinning into a debacle, Adams said.

But the law required the board to go to the District Attorney's Office when school officials discovered the illegal sale, he said.

Richart announced the district attorney's investigation in May 2006.

From that point on, three popular administrators were placed on leave; one was convicted of theft. The full-time faculty voted no confidence in Richart, and a group of former trustees, presidents and faculty urged her firing.

In 2007, the board gave Richart $1.6 million in a settlement for her resignation.

Since then the college has been led by two interim presidents.

Rodriguez was one of three finalists, from 50 applicants.

Brad Byrom, president of the Academic Senate representing faculty and administrators, said this week that Rodriguez was a top choice from the start and will provide a positive future for the college.

Don Pratola agreed. The special services coordinator helped lead an aborted recall effort against two trustees in 2007.

“I've talked to a lot of people on campus,” Pratola said, “and virtually everyone thought that Mr. Rodriguez was the best choice. . . . I think people were quite pleased.”

As president of Cosumnes River College, Rodriguez handled a rapidly growing enrollment and said he expects the same at MiraCosta. The challenge will be to find the resources to accommodate the new students and keep up the college's high academic standards, Rodriguez said.

First, he said, MiraCosta must meet requirements to maintain its accreditation, threatened in the midst of trustees squabbling among themselves and with faculty and staff in 2007.

Rodriguez expects all the necessary documentation to be ready for an accreditation committee March 1.